Cyberpunk 2077

• Genre: RPG
• Spoiler Free Review: Trying to be. Posting some story/dialog screenshots at the bottom.
• Time Played: 140 Hours
• Too Short/Long: Definitely feels a bit long because there is just so much stuff. I definitely feel like some of the gigs are there just to pad it out, but many of them still manage to build on the world, and some are even relevant to greater storylines. So it's hard to say it's actually too long, but almost any game that's more than 100 hours could probably stand to cut some content.
• Soundtrack: There are some amazing tracks, and while it may have some licensed, or some that had some collaborations, I think the vast majority was at least originally created for the game, and that said, damn. There are literal albums worth of music of a handful of different genres, and some real bangers in there.
• Why I played: I love cyberpunk as a genre, but prior to this game's release, I didn't really care. I saw an overhyped generic mess that overselling and uninspired. And maybe that wasn't entirely fair, but at least it wasn't quite as far off at release. After the game saw some revisions and made improvements, they never rereleased/updated the PS4 version, but PS4 players could get a free PS5 upgrade. Somehow that also meant people would sell PS4 copies for like 15 bucks, so I snagged the game on the cheap to give it a shot.
• Did I cry: Maybe a couple times, but more early-mid game than later on.
• Jank: At some point in its life it seems like this may have been the jankiest out there, and that might not entirely be true anymore, however, it's not without jank at all. All huge open world games experience some degree of problems. The more there is, the more that can go wrong. There were more than a few instances I had to restart the game because I literally couldn't continue playing. The main thing I somewhat frequently encountered, was a state where I could not bring up any menus and if I interacted with something that brought up a menu-like UI(like hacking panels), it would not come up and I would get stuck. Also sometimes I would get in a permanent state of combat or be unable to use any of the fast travels. The first time I experienced this I thought it was a story thing, so I was driving literally everywhere for many missions. I ended up restarting the game for an unrelated reason and found I could fast travel again - many hours later.
• Difficulty: I was playing the game on Normal originally, as I usually do and was finding it quite difficult at times. Eventually things evened out and then I found myself in a situation where I just couldn't level up any further. A quick look online suggested that you get more experience on Hard, so I switched to hard. It was hard at first, but eventually I got so powerful that "hard" was easy. I could have continued to very hard, but I worked hard to get where I was an liked feeling powerful toward the end of the game. Also, that final mission was still very difficult, I even considered switching back to easy, but I saw it through. Point is. There are so many variables in this game, it's probably hard to pinpoint what the perfect difficulty is. It's a very action heavy action game, but it's also still an RPG. Eventually your equipment/abilities/etc. could surpass what the game can offer.
• Recommend to others: This is not the same game it was at release, and as it currently is I would definitely recommend Cyberpunk to anyone who is vaguely interested. It may have some problems, but overall, it's just such an impressive game on so many levels. The effort that this game took, to put everything together is just unfathomable. The term AAA game is thrown around these days just to describe any potentially high quality, expensive to make, non-indie game. Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the very few games I would say fully fits the AAA descriptor. This is a AAA game as defined. I feel like this is to games what Avatar(2009 film) was to 3D films. It's not the first, it's not the best, it's not going to be everyone's favorite, but it is arguably the definitive experience when you refer to it.

My little bullet points got a bit more out of control than they usually do. So where do I begin? At the end. Finishing Cyberpunk 2077 left me with that feeling I only occasionally get upon completing a game. A tightness in my chest, a strange combination of adrenalin and hyper focus, with a relieved exasperation. It's a complex feeling that occurs after certain... uhh... game changing, games?

I'm still honestly not even sure if Cyberpunk 2077 makes "the list", but I feel like it's only fair to put it to test. I'll wait until I come down from this feeling, whatever it is. Maybe at the end of the year I'll reevaluate. Especially since a few sequels to games in my favorites list are queued up to be played now. I imagine it might have some changes coming.

Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir

• Genre: Action RPG
• Time Played: 55 Hours
• Too Short/Long: A little long, it can get a little repetitive and monotonous.
• Pleased/Disappointed: Very pleased, it's one of my favorites.
• Why I played: After playing Unicorn Overlord I wanted some more Vanillaware flavored games. I tried playing a Vanillaware inspired game, but it just made me want to play Odin Sphere. So I played Odin Sphere.
• Recommend to others: Odin Sphere is probably a game I would recommend to everyone. It's just a great game, and even if it has some flaws, I think it's worth everyone trying it.

Earlier this year I had revised my favorite game list to include some stuff I had played in recent times, and Odin Sphere got bumped just off the list, scoring only 19 of the required 20 points or more. I reevaluated Odin Sphere now, with it fresh in my mind and bumped it back up to 33 points which coincidently places it alongside some very similar games.

When Leifthrasir came out, I played a little bit(apparently around 15 hours according to my old save) but didn't finish it because it felt all too fresh in my head. I supposed it was less than a decade after the original version's launch. But now, 17 years later, I got to the point where I only remembered certain aspects(and maybe the first dozen hours). The game can be a little long and feel a bit grindy at moments, like you're just kind of doing combat over and over again, but, that is also kind of the point. While I would still classify this as an "action rpg" the emphasis is on the action.

Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth

• Genre: Action RPG
• Time Played: 125 Hours
• Too Short/Long: It definitely feels longer than it should be if you really wanna do everything. That said, it does seem like you can wrap the game up in about 40 hours, but the vast difference between a more completionist playthrough and mostly main story its far greater than I feel it should be.
• Pleased/Disappointed: Infinitely pleased. I have my criticisms, as I do with all games, but I haven't played a game that had me grinning ear to ear as much as this... probably since Remake came out.
• Why I played: Final Fantasy VII is my favorite game, along with Remake.
• Recommend to others: I definitely would recommend it to any Final Fantasy VII fan. Maybe don't try to squeeze every bit out of it, unless you're into that.

--Disc 1-- Remember

While playing this, there were various times I reminisced on the old days. 25+ years ago, when Final Fantasy VII and Ocarina of Time were the undisputed best games of all time. Well, to say it was "undisputed" wouldn't be fair. People disputed alright. But in a time when a much smaller percentage of people used the internet and video games as a hobby were a bit more niche, any time there was a poll of something along the lines of best game of all time, it ultimately ended up with FF7 or Ocarina of Time. Best character? Link or Cloud.

Astlibra Revision

• Genre: Action Platforming RPG
• Time Played: 65 Hours
• Too Short/Long: The core game feels just right, but it's probably a little too long with it's Postscript in mind. Don't get me wrong, I WANTED to keep playing, but it has you redo areas, when you were likely already redoing areas over. It's not something I generally dig and usually feel could be integrated into the core game a bit better. Still, the revisit of old content is quick and abridged.
• Pleased/Disappointed: Extremely please, I think I've got a new favorite out of this one.
• Why I played: I'd been following it for awhile and even remember seeing stuff about the original version and it's always interested me.
• Recommend to others: This is a definitely recommend from me. In fact, I am about to shoot over the link to a few people I was talking about it with in person. 

Astlibra starts out as a game filled with jank, cobbled together stock assets, intermingled with art from several different artists of very different backgrounds, obvious Game Maker-esque tilesets, royalty free music, questionable animation, writing that is hit or miss at times and probably needed another pass through an editor, and game systems slapped one on top of another.

And it never stops being that. But it owns that, and is maybe one of the best games I've played in recent years. Astlibra is fun to play, fun to experience, has great characters, and overall a great story with pretty good writing, even if it misses the mark from time to time. It's convoluted as hell but it's a time-traveling story and what time-traveling story isn't? I think there are clearly some spots where time stuff just happened to work out, because it was written as so, but overall it works.

Final Fantasy VII Remake: Episode INTERmission

• Genre: Action RPG
• Time Played: 9 Hours
• Too Short/Long: I wouldn't have minded it be a bit longer. 3 Chapters would have been good.
• Pleased/Disappointed: Very pleased, I liked it more than I thought I would.
• Why I played: I wanted to get it out of the way before Rebirth came out, and I am glad I did.
• Recommend to others: Definitely. It's not a standalone product and it's technically a DLC, but... it is a stand alone little prologue for Yuffie with some other bonuses. You definitely have to play Remake first.

This is the reason I get so frustrated... infuriated even, when I see how many people cry out for what is just basically a 1:1 "Remake" of Final Fantasy 7 with better graphics instead of the Remake we are getting. The Remake we are getting which, is better viewed as series "reboot" or "sequel" really, rather than a "remake". I always say that "Remake" for FF7 is not a description, but a subtitle. I don't get why people are so against this when so many other series have gotten a kind of "reboot" to a similar degree with almost universal praise. "Fans" can be the absolute worst people.

If you want a 1:1 remake, there are plenty of high-res mods for the PC version.

Upon playing Remake I thought it was just the beginning of a masterpiece and playing Intermission only reinforced that. There are just so many nice little touches that even though I know there is a big giant behind it, I can't help but feel it's carefully crafted for/by dedicated fans.

Don't get me wrong, I kind of agree they delve a little too much into some of the more nonsensical aspects of the FF7 world in Remake and answering that by creating even more nonsensical aspects might not be the best decision, but I am here to see it through because as a complaint, that's pretty minor when considering other modern rpgs and the game is near perfection in every other aspect.

Obviously I have a level of bias as FF7 has always been my favorite game(/series), but I can't begin to express the sheer joy I experience when playing this.

Yuffie is better than ever. Originally, in FF7 she was a bit secondary - being a technically optional character, and maybe a bit annoying at times, but I absolutely loved her here, she is absolutely adorable, and very fun to play. It never felt like a real deviation from who she's always meant to be, just a more fully realized version of the character.

I loved it, and while it's status as a kind of bonus story DLC may technically make it optional to play before Rebirth. Just like acquiring Yuffie(and Vincent) in the original FF7, I don't consider it optional content.

Witch Spring R

• Genre: RPG
• Time Played: 42 Hours
• Too Short/Long: I only played so much because I think I did pretty much everything you can do. There is a bit of back and forth grind that it simplifies, but it could have been made a little easier with more shortcuts or more/better mounts and expanded the story a little bit, to be a bit longer.
• Pleased/Disappointed: Extremely pleased, pleasantly surprised, I think it's another for the top favorite games list.
• Why I played: I loved Witch Spring 3: Re:Fine. At time of writing, a tabletop roleplaying character I am currently playing is largely based off the character from WS3.
• Recommend to others: I definitely would. The problem is it's PC only right now and the devs don't seem to have any plans for a console port. So if you're amenable to PC games, don't wait. They seem to be working on other stuff for console. It feels like it should be a Switch game though.

Witch Spring R is a remake of the first, a mobile game that wasn't a micro transaction heavy service game but just a cheap little rpg for a few bucks. The improvement is DRASTIC. I've played a few remakes this year and this one is the biggest leap by far. This is everything built from the ground up, all new graphics, music, content, art, content/story that was in the 2nd game mixed in, etc. A fully new game. I didn't play the original, because at the time it wasn't localized, but I have previously watched some videos and stuff like that. I just found out all Witch Spring games are now localized and have to wrestle with if I want to figure out how to play them since my phone runs a version of Android that is too new for them, or just hope and hold out for more remakes/ports.

It's gameplay style is another reason I think it would be great on Switch. It's very easy to pick up and play and as you progress you get the ability to quick battle weaker enemies to farm them for materials, since you have to make/upgrade most of your equipment/items yourself. You can play it so easily in short bursts that it very much supports grab and go, or sit down play and being able to suspend games and walk away easily, is something the Switch seems to handle a bit better than other modern consoles, even though other consoles could do that as well, PC just seems like the worst choice... but it's the largest audience, I get that too.

Super Mario RPG

• Genre: RPG
• Time Played: 16 Hours
• Too Short/Long: Super Mario RPG is pretty short for the style of RPG it is, but it feels right for what it is. It never drags, even if there are a couple spots that are a little combat encounter heavy. I guess I would like more, but it's one of the most accessible rpgs, so I feel like it's just right.
• Pleased/Disappointed: Extremely pleased. I mean, I love this game and expected no less.
• Why I played: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is one of my favorite games. Also I have receipts of me saying I wanted to replay it about 3 months before the announcement of this remake, so the timing couldn't have been better.
• Recommend to others: I would absolutely recommend this. To everyone. I feel like it's a game everyone should play, without exception.

Super Mario RPG is a remake of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. I don't know why they dropped the subtitle. Especially when there are other Mario RPGs. I feel like it's one of those title changes that only creates confusion. Anyway, I went in with a bias and strong nostalgia for this game. I don't recall if it was the first RPG I played, but it might be the first RPG I finished. I didn't really get into rpgs until I was 11 or 12 and had internet and I know I played this at least a few years before then. I would have been 9 when it came out and we moved right around the time I turned 10 and I remember playing it before moving.

Anyway, this isn't about when I played it, but that's how much the game is tied to nostalgia for me. Not only did I play it then, but I remember it being one of the first games I emulated, since technically I had only rented it(several times, mind you). I've since purchased digital copies of the game and played through at least one of them, but at this point it has been awhile since I played the game and earlier this year I got that bug in me again.

Void Stranger

• Genre: Puzzle Adventure
• Time Played: 61 hours.
• Too Short/Long: Too long... buuuut also it might be my own fault. If you want to see all the game has to offer it's too long. If you're fine with missing some content, it's probably not.
• Pleased/Disappointed: I was originally disappointed that System Erasure's follow up to ZeroRanger was going to be a puzzle game, I am no longer disappointed.
• Why I played: It might have been a long time til I played this game if not made by the same people who did ZeroRanger, which is one of my most favorite games in recent years. It being a puzzle game, but having cute style pixel art with big character drawings, I would have likely added it to my wish list, maybe bought it on sale and maybe gotten around to it some day. As I do for most game fitting the description.
• Recommend to others: This is a weird one. This is probably one of the games I've liked and played the most, I will recommend the least. While I think it's a great game, I find it very hard to recommend to anyone who wouldn't play it with dedication and determination. Not only are some of the puzzles ridiculously hard, but some of the secrets are extremely secret and it's the type of game you have to dig and dig at just to get a morsel of a reward for your effort.

Void Stranger is a puzzle game where you progress through levels by moving the floor tiles to get to the exit. You're often navigating through an otherwise bottomless pit and often have to avoid or manipulate monsters positions as well. The game does a good job at playing with and introducing layers to those mechanics, but on the surface level it's a pretty straightforward puzzle game. It's everything around the floor-to-floor puzzles that make the game really stand out.

Okami

• Genre: Action Adventure
• Time Played: 41 Hours
• Too Short/Long: Just about right, maybe feels a little too long if you try to do all the extra stuff.
• Pleased/Disappointed: Very pleased, as this is one of my favorite games, and maybe moreso than I remembered.
• Why I played: I was looking for inspiration for a Tabletop RPG I am running and started playing some games specifically focused around japanese folklore and mythology. I had bought Okami for the Switch with the intent of "one day replaying" and that day was now.
• Recommend to others: Of course. I feel like almost anyone that likes video games should play Okami, but I guess specifically if you like Action Adventure, or japanese mythological settings. While some parts can be a little tough to figure out at times, and it shows it's age in some aspects, it's never excessively difficult or frustrating, maybe slightly obtuse at time, maybe slightly finnicky with the celestial brushes, but those are really the biggest grievances of an otherwise amazing game.

I love Okami and I don't think I put enough emphasis on that in more recent years. It's been a long time since I played it and I had forgotten a lot of the game, most of it being remembered in a fashion more similar to Deja Vu.

Final Fantasy XVI

• Genre: Action RPG
• Time Played: 69 Hours. (Nice)
• Too Short/Long: Just a little too long. Some individual areas went on just a tad long and a handful of sidequest kinda drag on.
• Pleased/Disappointed: Very pleased, it's a new favorite.
• Why I played: Do I need a reason to play a mainline Final Fantasy game? Actually, when it was first announced I didn't care too much. They're doing a mature traditional fantasy medieval inspired setting? Ehhh, not until some friends pointed out the protagonist and how up my alley in design he was. Then I watched exactly one trailer, got excited and refrained from finding out more. I actually finally bought a PS5 mainly to be able to play FFXVI... and catch up on the (very few) exclusives I was still missing out on.
• Recommend to others: I absolutely would if it's something you expect you'll like. I would say it can be rather difficult at times. With it's action focus in the combat, it's not something you can just grind levels out to overcome obstacles.

I don't feel like I walked away having too much to say, even though I loved it. So let's get my grievances out the way. The story isn't bad, but the first third of the game is... rough. I don't mean as in poorly written. I mean as how they present one of the primary subjects. Slavery. It doesn't approach it with kid gloves and maybe even takes it's presentation a little far. I've consumed a lot of fantasy media which features slavery, and maybe it's their fault for not presenting it as a serious enough issue, as it's often just a kinda background thing, like, oh these obvious villains have slaves and we're going to free them, and now everyone is happy. This treats it in a way that can be very uncomfortable at times.

Breath of Fire 2

• Genre: Turn-Based RPG
• Time Played: Doesn't track time, best guess is about 45+ hours.
• Too Short/Long: Honestly too long, as much as I love it, it could benefit from cutting out some unnecessary backtracking, a run button, and lowering the base encounter rate - or at least it's encounter reducing items could be more effective.
• Pleased/Disappointed: Very Pleased, always. This is one of my favorite games of all time.
• Why I played: This isn't the first time I finished Breath of Fire 2, but I barely remembered so much off the top of my head. Things came back to me immediately as I played, but I was missing it from my immediate recall.
• Recommend to others: It's hard not to recommend one of my favorite games of all time, but it's very much an early 90's JRPG and I feel like you need to know that and want to experience that before going in.

Breath of Fire 2 is one of my favorite games of all time, and I was worried this playthrough was going to change it, since I felt like I could remember so little going in. Even roughly 25 years since I first played it, I still love this game. To be fair, it was very nostalgic for me, I played it both on SNES and GBA, but this time I opted for the SNES version since it's on the SNES service on the Switch.

The SNES version is a bit rougher, especially in the translation department, but it's mostly the same experience. I would probably recommend someone playing it the first time to play the GBA version if they can, just because of some of the really rough translation issues with the SNES version.

Favorite Games December 3rd 2021

Another copy pasta archive post. This list has since gone through some changes, but as of 12/03/2021, this was where it was at, I included some stats and the mostly green sheet method of determining the games score. As a bonus, I included one of my old "33 Favorite Games" list.